Long-term Comparison of Choroidal Thickness between Scleral Encircling and Combined with Trans-pars Plana Vitrectomy in Retinal Detachment

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) before and after scleral encircling (SE), with or without trans-pars plana vitrectomy (TPPV), in patients with monocular primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent SE for monocular primary RRD between January 2019 and June 2021 and underwent optical coherence tomography during follow-up. SFCT was measured independently at three regions be-fore the surgery and 1, 2, 3, and 6 months after the surgery. The values were manually analyzed by two independent ophthalmo-logists.Results: Of the 33 eyes included in the study, 18 (54%) underwent SE alone, while 15 (46%) underwent SE with TPPV. SFCT gradually decreased after surgery in all patients (p < 0.05). The SFCT was significantly greater 6 months postoperatively in the SE alone group (260.51 & PLUSMN; 78.30 pm) compared to the SE with TPPV group (225.55 & PLUSMN; 75.24 pm) (p < 0.05). Macular detachment patients had significantly greater preoperative SFCTs (276.46 & PLUSMN; 20 pm) compared to others (223.93 & PLUSMN; 20 pm) (p < 0.05). Preoperative SFCT was significantly related to visual acuity (p < 0.05), while the remaining SFCT values did not have any sig-nificant effects.Conclusions: In primary RRD eyes, SFCT decreased over time after SE, more so when TPPV was also performed. Further stud-ies are required to investigate the mechanism of SFCT change and its impact on RRD. J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2023;64(6):473-481